​Looking Back: Armstrong Park

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society
 
When no topic came to mind for this week’s column, I decided maybe a walk might help, so I headed for Armstrong Park to walk the trail, or maybe the old high school track at the back. As soon as I saw the sign on Main Street, it hit me. I’ve never written about the Armstrong family or how Armstrong Park came to be. So as I walked, I outlined this story in my mind. 

Thomas J Armstrong was born on February 18, 1830, in Montgomery, Maryland. His family moved to Indiana where he was raised along with nine siblings and 5 step-siblings. In 1859, he married Mary Elizabeth Huffer in Michigantown, Indiana. They had eight children. Elizabeth died in 1877.

Two years after her death, Thomas moved to Missouri, bringing six of the younger children with him to Sni-A-Bar Township in Eastern Jackson County.

According to old newspaper stories, the Armstrong family lead private lives. Like other “old timers,” I remember “Miss Lizzie,” the youngest of the children, sitting on her front porch with her brother Ben. They were always there on Friday nights during football season, or for that matter when any event was going on at the school. They were making sure that no one parked on their land or in front of their house. If anyone actually knew why they opposed the school, I’ve never head, but they did oppose the school even after death. This was apparent in Miss Lizzie’s will.

Quoting an article in The Examiner, July 27-28, 2002
Mary Elizabeth Armstrong, or Miss Lissie as she was known, was 90 when she died on her farm in 1966. Like her three brother who died before herm she had never married,
She left money and land to establish Armstrong Park. Although she belonged to none, she also left a sum to be divided by the three churches in town at that time.

Armstrong Park Today. Photo credit: Marcia Napier
 
Next week, read more about the unusual Armstrong family and their life in Grain Valley. 
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